Dessert Darling

Tres Leches and Chipotle Chocolate Cake at the Spanish Kitchen

The Spanish Kitchen is a decent place to celebrate a friend's birthday. True the food won't blow you away and the "famous" Lobster crepes taste rather fishy to me, but you can order other benign staples, like quesadillas, on their half-off Happy Hour menu for four bucks and eat all the free chips and dip to your heart's desires.

Like the savory dishes, I found the desserts to be perfectly average.  

The Tres Leches cake resembled Strawberry Shortcake to some of the unexperienced Tres Leches consumers at the table. In translation, the cake was too try and lacked the moist, rich, coating of condensed milk throughout the journey, the way a brilliant Tres Leches should deliver.  That said, the bottom was sopping wet with thin, sweet milk, yielding a disproportionate distribution of dry to wet cake.  

The Chipotle Chocolate Cake proved to be a bigger hit amongst my friends, but I found this cake to be way too dry.  We appreciated the touch of hot cinnamon spices mixed into the batch, the chocolate glaze on top, and the vanilla ice-cream which ameliorated the dryness of the cake, but overall, I wasn't too impressed.

What can I say?! I know my desserts and I know average from amazing. Lo Siento Spanish Kitchen, but only 2.5 cherries for you.~

For more info on The Spanish Kitchen, click here. 

Tres Leches Cake

Chipotle Chocolate Cake

Fried Bananas and Chocolate Cake at Crustacean

Sometimes you can have a fabulous restaurant that serves delectable food, yet disappointing desserts. This is the unfortunate case for the famous Vietnamese/Pan-Asian restaurant, Crustacean.  

While Crustacean Restaurant originated in San Francisco, I've only dined in the chi chi Beverly Hills establishment which boasts an underground Koi aquarium that you literally walk over as you make your way past important Hollywood types to your snug and comfortable booth.  Entering Crustacean always feels like a special experience and the promise of An's famous garlic noodles keeps me wide-eyed in anticipation.

You can imagine my disappointment then, when dessert arrived only to underwhelm everyone at the table.  Both the chocolate cake and fried bananas lacked any flavor or zest that would make them as distinctive and special as the rest of one's dining experience at Crustacean. Your best bet for dessert is saving room for a second serving of their delicious garlic noodles that truly melt in your mouth. Surely these noodles, with their "secret sauce," have more butter than any dessert on their menu!

For more info on Crustacean Restaurant, click here.

Fried Bananas

 

Chocolate cake

   

Cookies from Vons

At the risk of losing my credibility here, I've gotta say, Pavillions makes great cookies in their bakery section!!  Every time my guy and I go to Newport we buy the smaller chocolate chip cookies (pictured below) and the larger variety packs with peanut butter, oatmeal raisin, and M & M cookies.  These cookies are always chewy, delicious, and a huge hit with our friends.  After years of indulging in these tried-and-true treats, it's time to give them the 4-cherry rating that they deserve!

 

Cookies from Paradise Bakery

 This weekend I flew to Mexico (Ole!) and had the best lay-over ever in Arizona. What could make a lay-over exciting, you may wonder? Delicious desserts, of course!!!

The Paradise Bakery even smelled amazing as we ventured out of security to grab some treats for the second leg of our journey.  While I can't say these cookies were 5-cherry home-runs, the overall experience with Paradise Bakery was indeed, heavenly.

First, a friendly employee greeted us in line with samples of divine Chocolate Fudge Cookie Bites.  Then we were greeted yet again for free smoothie samples. Then, as we approached the cash register, we could see a big window where they place the cookie dough on the baking trays, right in front of your eyes!! Aghh, great aroma, free samples, delightful options, cheerful service and cookie dough in site! Are you kidding me?! I Love this place!!

I thought the Lemon Zest cookie was amazing, and I never even like lemon desserts. The Snickerdoodle was my least favorite as it was a bit plain, but over all, a top 4.5 cherry rating for Paradise Bakery!

For more info on Paradise Bakery and their other locations, click here. 

 

 

Mango Ginger Split at the W Hotel

Tonight I had the pleasure of doing dessert in the chic and luxurious "living room" at The W Hotel in Hollywood. While the waitress insisted that the chocolate fondue was her favorite menu item, I opted for the lighter Mango Ginger Split since I'm hopping on a flight first thing tomorrow morning for Mexico (Woo! But bikini bikini bikini!).  

This layered dessert came in a glass, starting with homemade vanilla ice-cream on the bottom, mango sorbet on the top, freshly chopped mangos all around, and a coating of Ginger Rum sauce on top.  The effect was rather like an orange creamsicle, but with delicious mango instead.  I love mangos, but I have to say, I would have preferred more ice-cream, less sorbet.  I found this dessert to be too sweet all around, as sorbet tends to be a concentrated mass of sugar. The heavy serving of syrupy sorbet with the sauce on top made me purse my lips a bit.  I could give this experience an average rating of  2.5 cherries, but since it's such a lovely spot to hang out, I'm going to go with 3 cherries.~

For more info on The W Hotel in Hollywood, click here.  

 

 

Carrot Cake from Canters' Deli and Bakery

No you're eyes don't deceive you, that really is a half-cherry rating.  If there were such a thing as negative cherries, this abominable carrot cake from the LA landmark, Canters' Deli on Fairfax, would surely earn the odious award.  

Carrot Cake... right?! How do you go wrong with Carrot Cake?!  My dear friend and actress, Autumn Reeser, and I set out to find a a slice of heaven as we both love carrot cake. However, we could not have gone more wrong than we did with Canter's.  "Repulsive" was all Autumn could mutter as she grimaced, gingerly trying small bites.

Autumn thought that the carrot cake resembled a large honkin' protein bar with waxy glaze and all.  Her sentiments were not far off.  The "icing" left a terrible taste in our mouths as it was the worst combination of chalky and waxy, and the dried out bread.. oops, I mean "cake," had barely any seasoning or flavor. Is this place for real!?  Canter's looked gross from the outside, continue to look gross from the inside, and ended up just tasting gross all around.  Repulsive, Gross.. what have you.. this cake? Definitely not worth the weight!

 

For more info on Canters' Deli on Fairfax, click here. (Ha, like you want it now ;)

 

 

 

Paulette Macarons

 Perfection! These haute couture macarons come in a wide variety of unique and mouth watering flavors like violet cassis, rose, sweet wedding almond, and caramel, to name a few. Not only do these french cookies delight with their rainbow array of colors and delicious varying flavors, but also, they melt in your mouth the way a good macaron should.  The final mark of an extraordinary cookie? My fiance, who never eats sweets, couldn't keep his hands off them.  Furthermore, he insisted that we have these macarons at our wedding. Ha! Paulette Macaroons it is!  

I'm tempted to award the Golden Cherry to Paulette, but I think it's little premature for that.  For now, 5 enthusiast cherries! 

For more info on Paulette  Macaroons, click here. 

 Photo from thepetitepig.typepad.com 

Cupcakes at TOAST Bakery and Cafe

 Uhg Ugh Uhg Uhg Uhg! 

The cupcakes at Toast Bakery and Cafe in West Hollywood are Always Always ALWAYS TOO dry!  Why am I so frustrated? Because they also always LOOK so darn delicious and tempting that I end up buying them anyway, despite bad, past experiences. 

So here I am, officially stating for record, that no matter how exciting the cupcakes at Toast look with their wonderful mounds of colorful frosting, the cake is always too big and too dry, and they sport bland vanilla icing.  Bleh. The most redeeming cupcake is the Peanut Butter Chocolate cupcake, which has amazing icing, for sure, but otherwise, pass on the cupcakes... they're not worth the weight :-P

For more info on Toast Bakery and Cafe, click here.

 

 Purple vanilla cupcake in honor of the Lakers

Are Macaroons the New Cupcake

This NPR article (click here) claims that "Macaroons are the new cupcake."   As Jell-O molds, doughnuts, frozen-yogurt, and currently cupcakes, have had their day in the sun as the "it" dessert, it's time for them all to step aside for the French, almond cookie, the Macaroon.  

As someone who's always known about and loved Macaroons, I'd argue that the new and whimsical creation called cake-balls are actually the "new cupcake".  However, cake-balls are a post for another day, so let's focus on Macaroons.

Macaroons come in various delightful colors and flavors, pack as tasty a punch as cupcakes while being nowhere near as fattening, and are more manageable to eat, more portable, and giftable all around. I've gotta say, these chi chi french cookies are looking like quite the little Starlettes as I write!

For all the reasons above, my heart is set on having a delicious array of macaroons at my wedding next year. Tune into my upcoming reviews to see how Paulette's Macaroons faired when I tried them this weekend! :)

What do you think though?! Are Macaroons the next "it" dessert??!

    

Photo by Kyle Samperton

Crisp Banana Cheesecake Bunuelos at Happy Ending Bar and Restaurant

 "Crisp Banana Cheesecake 'Bunuelos' with Caramel Sauce and Fresh Bananas, Ala Mode!" states the menu.  A DD-say-What? Wow, let's order the thing and break it down!

Hmm, ok, what we've got here is warm cheesecake in a fried pocket of cinnamon-sugar dusted dough, caramelized bananas on the side, a scoop of vanilla ice-cream, and a side of whipped-cream, all on top of caramel drizzle. Woo!  That's a mouthful, literally! While this might look thrilling, I think there's a lot of song and dance here with not so much substance.  It's all just Too Much.  I'm a quality over quantity gal. I'd rather have one fabulous cheesecake than all this hoopla. Instead, the cheesecake was ordinary and overshadowed by it's fried encasing, the bananas were good, but not extraordinary, and the ice-cream was yummy, because let's face it, ice-cream is yummy.  Ultimately, the cookies that we also ordered were superior to this large and overly-complicated dish.  

For more info on The Happy Ending Bar and Restaurant, click here. 

 

Chocolate Chip Cookies at Happy Ending Bar and Restaurant

 

MMmmmm, now These are cookies done right! After my disappointing cookie encounter at Fred Segal I needed some cookie redemption.  The Happy Ending bar and restaurant stood true to it's name by not only serving up a Laker win, but also delivering hot-goey chocolate chip cookies with a cool glass of milk. The cookies were basically like eating heated cookie dough as they melted in your mouth with delicious chunks of warm chocolate.  The chilled glass of milk perfectly complimented cookies that came fresh from the oven.  Yummers!

For more info on The Happy Ending Bar and restaurant in LA, click here. 

 

Ice-Cream Sundae at Dominick's Restaurant

 In addition to the amazing Rosemary Olive Oil cake, I had an Ice-Cream Sundae at Dominick's. This dessert proved to be the most disappointing selection on the menu. The sundae consisted of vanilla "gelato," a side of melted "Nutella," and fresh-whipped cream with chopped Biscotti bits.  The "gelato" was identical to normal ice-cream, the "nutella" tasted suspiciously similar to McDonald's chocolate syrup, and the whipped cream was so thick and bland, it felt like superfluous lard.  The one touch my friend and I enjoyed were the chopped biscotti bits on top.  While you can't really mess up a Sundae, you can pass for just average. I think if I had my druther's.. I'd chose a Mickey D's sundae over this one.

For more info on Dominick's restaurant in West Hollywood, click here. 

 

 

Rosemary Olive Oil Cake at Dominick's Restaurant

I can't possibly award 5-cherries to a cake that doesn't have frosting, though I'm tempted to.  I found myself back at Dominick's in WeHo, lamenting the fact that I had already tried everything that looked appealing on the dessert menu. I decided, Fine ((pout)), I'll get the Rosemary Olive Oil cake, a "savory" dessert :-P

The plate arrived, presenting a cake adorned with herbs instead of icing, a sweet balsamic reduction on the side, fresh, chopped strawberries and a scoop of vanilla gelato.  I was instantly surprised by how delightful this "savory" dessert could be. The cake resembled a vanilla cake with hints of lemon and rosemary and I loved soaking it up in the sweet, syrupy reduction on the side.  The fresh, ripe strawberries could not have better complimented the seasoning of the cake and in my book, gelato pairs perfectly with any dessert.

I give this creative dessert massive props for its unique composition and outright tastiness! 

For more info on Dominick's restaurant, which is quickly becoming a fave dining spot, click here. 

      

Cookies at Mauro Cafe at Fred Segal's

 You know an oatmeal raisin cookie is bad when the raisins are actually the best part of the cookie.  Uhg.

The other day I had the pleasure of lunching with the "dainty vegetarian," Leslie Sarna, at Fred Segal's Mauro Cafe on Melrose. While the cuisine at this charming and trendy eatery has always delighted me, the desserts are another story.

Leslie and I deliberated over the ordinary looking dessert tray before ultimately deciding on cookies that were promised to be delicious. 

Promises, Promises...

The chocolate chip cookie didn't even look appetizing, and a few regrettable bites in, I learned this was one book you could read by the cover.  While the chocolate chip cookie was at least pleasantly chewy, the oatmeal raisin cookie was so bland we could cry.  Where's the salt? Cinnamon? Extra brown sugar?? Something people!  Throw us a bone! We're eating bad butter and white sugar here with no titillating pay-off!

((sigh))...1 cherry for the oatmeal raisin cookie, and 2.5 for the chocolate chip cookie results in a 2 cherry experience over all, because, well... I still love to lunch there.~

Fore more info on Fred Segal's Mauro Cafe, click here. 

 

 

White Chocolate from Tea Infusions

I couldn't resist the darling vintage packaging of the Tea Infusions chocolate bars at Whole Foods.  The Chamomile & Honey white chocolate particularly caught my attention since I grew up loving the fairest chocolate. Plus, I already have a go-to dark chocolate bar (Sweet Riot, as seen here). 

Hmm, I wasn't blown away by the first few bites, but the more I ate it, the more I couldn't stop, and before I knew it, the whole bar was gone. Not my intention.  The mild chamomile tea and sweet honey additions well complimented the white chocolate.  Furthermore, this bar contained 30% Cacao, which I could also detect.  Thanks to the charming packaging and unique tea-twist, these bars would be lovely additions to gift-bags or stocking stuffers. For the best, plain old white chocolate though, try a Lindt bar.

For more info on Tea Infusions and their other treats online, click here. 

 

 

 

 

Signature Flan

 So my underwhelming experience with the Flan King inspired me to buy the next flan I saw, a packaged product in Whole Foods by Signature Flan.  The package claims it's "made with real ingredients."  Well that's reassuring.  Already, I thought we were off to a sketchy start. I peeled back the plastic wrap and was even less dazzled by the congealed surface of generic-looking, pre-packaged dessert.

One bite, though, completely changed my whole perspective on life. Hot Damn, this is delicious flan! And I look at the ingredients to see, indeedy those are all natural, basic, and real food items making this magical burst of flavor in my mouth!  Like the Flan King, this particular flan is rather thick and heavy, but it has a bit more texture, especially towards the bottom where it nicely soaks up extra caramel sauce. Flan fan or not, you can't deny that Signature Flan makes a tasty dessert!

For more info on Signature Flan, click here. 

Flan from The Flan King

 While my friend claimed to be "no flan expert," she raved about the Flan King from the Farmer's Market.  I was excited to try the original and banana flans that she brought to book club since they sounded legendary. Perhaps my expectations were too high though, because I didn't quite understand the big to-do. Yes, the flan was yummy, but not necessarily more so than any other flan I had tried before.  

Perhaps the most off-putting part for me was the consistency.  This flan was literally as hard and thick as cheese.  In fact, I took a slice of cheese from the plater and a slice of flan and ate them side by side to compare.. yep, same consistency! My other friend, the Cheesecake lover, didn't mind this at all. But flan, my fellow sweet-teeth, should have a whisper of lightness, a hint of a jiggle, a bubble of laugher somewhere in there. The Flan King's version, however, was impenetrably unyielding. It took no prisoners.

Someday I'll have to tell you about the flan at LaLa's on Melrose. Now that custard treat is one for the record books!

But in the meantime, click here to check out the Flan King's site to see their fabulous array of flavors and locations. Perhaps I just had an off batch...~

 

 

 

Yum Yum Donuts

 If you live in Los Angeles, you've probably driven by Yum Yum Donuts about a thousand times heading up Highland or La Cienega by the 10.  You see a happy face licking his lips and wonder...just how Yum Yum are Yum Yum Donuts really? Probably pretty gross.. 

Actually, surprisingly Yummy!  This weekend friends delighted us by bringing over a large box of beautiful doughnuts and, as is my job, I had one of each.  Over all, the doughnuts are fresh and fluffy, with the exception of the old-fashion glazed, which was appropriately saturated, sweet, and dense.  I would have enjoyed custard filling in the maple glazed bar (which is an all-time fave from childhood) and I felt a bit ill after eating them, which made me want to dock points. Alas, I decided that would be unfair since it's not the doughnuts' fault that I ate so many.

So congrats to the Yum Yum Donut chain! You earned yourself a solid 4-Cherry rating :-9

 

Dark Chocolate "UnBAR": Sweet Riot

I eat chocolate everyday, but purely for health reasons, I swear! I actually grew up being much more of a Gummy Bear girl than I was a Snicker's or Hershey's fan. If I did eat chocolate, it was a big slab of Lindt Lindor white chocolate. So why the switch to dark? For the antioxidants, of course! ;)

Sweet Riot's UnBar is the perfect fix with its antioxidant packed chocolate that's made joyfully crunchy with real cacao pieces. I discovered the unBar, of all places, on a Virgin America flight, which truly has the best goodies to order from your seat. The unBAR is delicious, flavorful, and fights free radicals to keep my skin youthful and glowing- HA!

For more info on Sweet Riot and their tasty chocolate options, click here. 

 

 

National Candy Month

Did you know that June is National Candy Month?! Well you do now!  And since I just read in Glamour that movie popcorn has 58 grams of fat and 951 calories without butter(Holy Cripes!), I can't think of a better excuse to get candy instead at those summer blockbusters!

To be honest, I think I've outgrown candy with its artificial colors and high fructose corn syrup, but every now and then it's fun to indulge.  Would love to take a poll here:  

What is your all-time FAVORITE candy???

Hmmm, this is a TOUGH one for me. Now-and-Laters, and jaw-breakers used to rock my world, but it's a tie between Gummy Bears and Candy-Corn for my faves!!!

 

 

 

 

Triple Layer Chocolate Mousse Cake at Coral Tree Cafe

Woo Woo! Golden Cherry alert! 

As uncommon as it is, I've actually had a few a triple layer chocolate mousse cakes in my day.  None, however, have Tickled-me-Delighted the way this gorgeous creation from Coral Tree Cafe at the Century City Mall did.  WoooooWeeee, my friend and I swooned over this light but flavorful cake that tasted unique with its varying textures.   A thin, but rich, chocolate coating encased a smooth chocolate mouse, which floated above a light layer of foamy, vanilla cream. Finally, a sturdy foundation of chocolate cake kept everything in line from the bottom.

My friend loved this cake so much she pondered making it her wedding cake!  Congratulations to The Coral Tree Cafe! You just earned yourself a Golden Cherry :)

For more info on The Coral Tree Cafe, click here.